Germany 1890-1945

Question 1

Kaiser Wilhelm II and the difficulties of ruling Germany- growth of socialism

Answer 1

Many workers were unhappy —> workers joined trade unions and organised strikes hoping to force the government to improve pay and working conditions. —> the social Democratic Party became popular amongst workers .
• it believed in socialism
• it hoped the kaiser might allow the Reichstag to make more social reforms
• it disagreed with the power and privileged positions held by land and factory owners
• around one in three German voted for them at that time
—>
Some socialists took a more extreme view: wanted to rebel against the kaisers rule

Question 2

Kaiser Wilhelm II and the difficulties of ruling Germany- navy laws

Answer 2

Between 1888 and 1912 a series of navy laws were introduced. As a result, a huge amount of money was spent to rapidly increase the size of the navy.
The kaiser wanted a large navy to help him take over countries and protect those already in the German empire.
Taxes were increased and money was borrowed to pay for this

Question 3

Impact of the First World War- virtually bankrupt

Answer 3

• owed vast sums of money that it had borrowed to pay for the war
• lent some of its own money to allies
• factories were exhausted
• war pensions would cost the government a fortune

Question 4

Impacts of First World War- society divided further

Answer 4

• some factory owners hade made a fortune during the war, while workers had restrictions placed on their wages
• women worked in the factories during the war. Some people thought this damaged traditional family views

Question 5

Impact of First World War- politically unstable

Answer 5

• there was mutiny and revolution all over Germany
• many ex-soldiers and civilians felt that politicians had betrayed Germany by ending the war

Question 6

Main political parties in early Weimar Germany

Answer 6

Political party- supporters
Communist party- vast majority were working class
Social Democratic Party- mostly working class
German Democratic Party- middle class
Centre party- catholics from all classes
People’s party- middle class
National people’s party- middle and upper classes
National socialists German workers party- unemployed

Question 7

Murder, riots and rebellions, 19191-23- kapp putsch

Answer 7

When- in march 1920, right wing politician Wolfgang Kapp gathered 5000 men to take over the capital
Why- he wanted to take control of the whole country and recover the land Lost in the treaty of Versailles
What happened- president Ebert and the government fled Berlin. However, Kapp didn’t have the workers support and they went on strike
Result- After 100 hours as germanys leader, kapp fled abroad. Ebert and his government returned to Berlin

Question 8

Murder, riots and rebellions, 1919-23- assassinations

Answer 8

When- between 1919-1922, there were over 350 political murders in Germany, mostly carried out by right wing extremists
Why- they wanted to eliminate those who were responsible for the treaty of Versailles
What happened- in august 1921 Matthias erzberger, the man who signed the armistice in 1918, was shot dead by a right wing group.

Question 9

Murder, riots and rebellions, 1919-23- red rising in the Ruhr

Answer 9

When- in march 1920, after the kapp putsch, left wing workers in the industrial Ruhr stayed on strike
What happened- they took over several towns in what is known as the red rising
Result- the government sent soldiers and free corps units to deal with the rebellion. Over 1000 workers were killed

Question 10

Murder, riots and rebellions, 1919-23- the Munich putsch

Answer 10

When- in November 1923, Hitler and the nazis tried to seize control of the Bavarian government in southern Germany
Why- Hitler promised to overturn the treaty of Versailles, destroy communism and restore germanys national glory
How- he planned to capture Munich and march to Berlin
What happened- as Hitler and about 2000 supporter marched through Munich, they were met by police. Three policemen and 16 nazis died in a short gun battle
Result - Hitler and Ludendorff were arrested

Question 11

The stress man era- hyperinflation

Answer 11

He stopped the printing of bank notes and replaced the worthless notes with temporary, new currency called the retenmark. In 1924 it was replaced by the reichsmark, a stable currency that remained for the next 25 years

Question 12

The streseman era- French and Belgian troops in the Ruhr

Answer 12

He arranged for the USA to lend money to Germany. Germany the re-started it’s reparation payments. This deal was known as the Dawes plan

Question 13

Stresemann era- economic recovery

Answer 13

As well as borrowing money from America to pay reparations, Stresemann also used it to build new factories, houses, schools and roads. This meant more jobs which let Germany make more money

Question 14

Stresemann era- foreign policy

Answer 14

• in 1925, Germany signed the Locarno pact with Britain, France, Belgium and Italy. They promised to never invade
• in 1926, Germany joined the League of Nations,
• in 1928, Germany signed the Kellogg-Brian’s pact. This participated countries agreed never to go to war

Question 15

What was the Depression?

Answer 15

From 1924, onwards,foreign banks, especially American ones, lent huge amounts of money to Germany to build factories and businesses. In October 1929 a financial crisis, known as the Wall Street crash, hit the USA.

Question 16

The depression- economic

Answer 16

• troubled US banks demanded back the money they had lent to Germany after the First World War. German banks tried to reclaim this money from German businesses. They couldn’t pay and went bankrupt.

Question 17

The depression- political

Answer 17

•people listened to different, often extreme, political parties that promised radical solutions to Germany’s problems and ways of improving their lives

Question 18

The depression- social

Answer 18

• many people were soon living on the streets- jobless, hungry and angry at the Thai political leaders who they planned for their problems

Question 19

Reasons for the growth of the nazi party

Answer 19

• the nazis promised work and bread to the 6 million unemployed
• Hitler had a charismatic personality, he convinced people that he could be trusted to make Germany a great nation

Question 20

Who voted for the Nazis- farmers

Answer 20

• the depression hit farmers hard and the Weimar government offered little help
• the Nazis promised them higher prices for crops, a better quality of life and higher status in society
• Nazis opposition to communists appealed to farmers- if the communists took over they would take farmers land

Question 21

Who voted for the Nazis? - middle class

Answer 21

• the middle class- people such as small business owners, doctors, bank workers and managers- feared that law and order might break down during the depression
• they worried that a communist takeover could destroy their way of life.
• the Nazis promised to deal with the communists and the SA fought them

Question 22

Who voted for the Nazis- Women

Answer 22

• the Nazis targeted women voters by saying that family life and good morals and self-discipline were important
• some women agreed with Hitler’s view that Weimar culture had been a bad influence on the young

Question 23

Who voted for the Nazis- wealthy classes

Answer 23

• the nazi promised strong leadership to make Germany powerful again
• Hitler promised to let owners run factories how they wanted, and his plans to build more weapons would be good for manufacturing
• the communists wanted to take over many businesses, but the Nazis opposed them

Question 24

Who voted the Nazis- youth

Answer 24

•Hitler’s promise to tear up the treaty of Versailles and make the country strong again appealed to young people.
• they wanted to be a part of Germany’s bright future and get jobs in the armed forces or building new homes, motorways and hospitals

Question 25

What was the night of long knives?

Answer 25

Hitler arranged a meeting at a hotel in Bavaria,southern Germany, with SA leaders on 30th June 1934 —>
Shortly before dawn, Hitler and a assassin squad from the SS stormed into the hotel and arrested Rohm and other SA leaders. They were later shot dead

Question 26

What were the impacts of the night of long knives?

Answer 26

• Rivals dead: many of those who Hitler regarded as a threat were now dead, including Rohm and all the leading Nazis who didn’t agree with Hitler
• Rise of the SS: the SS, led by Heinrich Himmler, was now responsible for Hitler’s security, not the SA. Along with the Gestapo, the SS now formed the basis of the ‘ police state’.
• rule of murder: Hitler didn’t hide what he had done.

Question 27

What are the economic changes in Nazi Germany- the national labour service

Answer 27

• all men aged between 18 and 25 had to spend six months in the RAD
• they planted forests, mended hedges and dug drainage ditches on farms
• they wore uniforms and lived in camps, but were given free meals and small wage

Question 28

What were the economic changes in Nazi Germany- public work schemes

Answer 28

• a new network of autobahns (motorways) to link Germanys major towns and cities was built
• this gave work to nearly 100,000 people
• new schools and hospitals were built , creating even more jobs

Question 29

What were the economic changes in Nazi Germany- ‘invisible’ unemployment

Answer 29

• women who gave up work to have a family didn’t count on the official figures
• part-time workers were counted as full-time.
• the Nazis created jobs by sacking people, by sacking Jews and giving them to non-Jews,

Question 30

What are the economic changes in Nazi Germany- rearmament

Answer 30

• the Nazis ordered the rearmament of Germany to rebuild its armed forces
• new tanks, battleships, fighter planes and guns were built, creating jobs
• huge government arms contracts made factory owners and industrial bosses a fortune
•

Question 31

What is self sufficiency?

Answer 31

needing no outside help in satisfying one’s basic needs, especially with regard to the production of food.

Question 32

What were schools like in Nazi Germany?

Answer 32

• Teachers had to join the German Teachers League and teach what the Nazis wanted
• every subject used to put forward Nazi propaganda and beliefs
• textbooks were rewritten to present Nazi beliefs as facts
• Race studies was taught. Students were taught the Aryan race was superior to there.
• pe became very important to prepare boys for army. Girls studied domestic skills such as cooking and sewing
• students identified as potential future Nazi leaders were sent to special academies known as ‘Napolas’

Question 33

What were universities like in Nazi Germany?

Answer 33

• universities had to change their courses to reflect what the Nazis believed
• top university professors were hand picked by the Nazis
• many lecturers were sacked, either for racial or political reasons.
• all students had to train as soldiers for a month each year

Question 34

What were women like in Weimar Germany compared to Nazi Germany?

Answer 34

• In Weimar Germany women had many rights and freedoms
In Weimar Germany the birth rate fell because more woman were working
• in Nazi Germany women were not allowed to work to rebuild traditional German values
• in Nazi Germany women were supposed to stick to the three k’s-
Kinder,Kirche and Kuche ( children, church and cooking)

Question 35

What were the Nazi policies towards women?- work

Answer 35

Many female doctors, teachers, lawyers and judges were sacked. Working was discouraged as it might hinder producing children

Question 36

What were the Nazis policies towards women?- family

Answer 36

Contraception and abortion were banned. Generous loans were given to newly married couples to encourage them to have children. The motherhood medal was awarded to women with the most children. Mothers with eight children received the ‘gold cross’

Question 37

What were the Nazi policies towards women?- behaviour

Answer 37

In many cities, women were banned from smoking because it was ‘unladylike’ . Wearing trousers or high heels was also frowned upon for the same reason. Slimming was discouraged because it might make it harder to get pregnant.

Question 38

What were the Nazi policies towards women?- organisation

Answer 38

The German women’s league coordinated all adult women’s groups, and representatives travelled around giving advice on cooking, childcare and diet. The Nazi women’s organisation was an elite female group dedicated to Nazi beliefs and ideas

Question 39

What were the Nazis policies towards women?- sterilisation

Answer 39

The Nazis thought that some women were unfit to be mothers. The ‘law for the prevention of diseased offspring’ allowed forcible sterilisation of women with a history of mental illness, hereditary diseases or antisocial behaviour

Question 40

What were the early Nazi policies against Jews?- shops

Answer 40

From January 1934, all Jewish shops were marked with a yellow Star of David or the word Juden. Soldiers stood outside shops turning people away.

Question 41

What were the early Nazi policies against Jews?- laws

Answer 41

The Nuremberg laws of 1935 banned marriages between Jews and non- Jews. German citizenship was also removed

Question 42

What were the early Nazi policies against Jews?- Kristallnacht

Answer 42

In November 1938 Jewish homes, synagogues and businesses were attacked all over Germany and Austria. About 100 Jews were killed and 20,000 sent to concentration camps. Known as Kristallnacht ( night of broken glass)

Question 43

What were the early Nazi policies against Jews?- work

Answer 43

From march 1933, all Jewish lawyers judges and teachers were sacked

Question 44

What were the early Nazi policies against Jews?- school

Answer 44

Jewish children were forced out of German state schools and eugenics was introduced in schools

Question 45

What did the Nazis do to racial groups ?

Answer 45

• the Nazis classed Jews, Gypsies, Slavs, black and Indian people as ‘inferior’
• Hitler wanted to cleanse Germany of these people
• the Nazis began to persecute and , later, murder members of these groups.

Question 46

Who was Heinrich Himmler?

Answer 46

•The head of the SS
• a loyal Nazi who personally reported to Hitler, whom he had known since 1923

Question 47

What were the gestapo?

Answer 47

• no uniform
• spied on people they thought might be a threat. Tapped phone calls and open mail
• had the power to arrest, imprison without trial and torture anyone

Question 48

What was the ss?

Answer 48

• set up in 1925, wore black uniforms
• originally Hitler’s personal bodyguards, but over time divided into 3 sections:
- the sd looked after ‘security’ they could arrest anyone for any reason
- the waffen ss- elite unit in the army
- the deaths head units- ran the concentration camps and later the death camps

Question 49

How were newspapers used in propaganda?

Answer 49

• only stories that showed the Nazis doing good thing permitted
• there were negative stories about Germanys enemies

Question 50

How was films used as propaganda?

Answer 50

• all films had to show the Nazis in a good way, and their enemies in a bad way
• goebbels approved all storylines

Question 51

How were books, theatre and music used as propaganda?

Answer 51

• writers were forced to write books, plays and songs that praised Hitler and the Nazis

Question 52

How was the radio used as propaganda?

Answer 52

• all radio stations were under Nazi control to Broadcast Nazi ideas
• cheap radios were produced that could only tune in to Nazi controlled stations
• loud speakers were placed in the streets, in factories and cafes to air broadcasts